Empowering people through community-driven permaculture projects since 2001, Permatil recognised the urgent need to regenerate Timor-Leste’s natural environment and create sustainable livelihoods and resilient communities, while strengthening culture and traditional knowledge.
Their work includes:
- Planning and implementing permaculture projects with communities across Timor-Leste
- Training of future trainers – including NGO and government staff, community leaders and local farmers – in water and soil conservation, agro-ecology, agro-forestry, aquaculture and organic farming
- Establishing a national farmer’s food sovereignty network
- Water restoration and preservation projects to rehabilitate springs and store water in the ground in 174 communities
- Producing Timorese educational resources including illustrated readers, films, posters and the Permaculture Guidebook from Timor-Leste, 2008
- Producing the Tropical Permaculture Guidebook, 2018, accessed online on a ‘pay-what-you-can’ basis
- Incorporating a permaculture school gardens program in the national primary school curriculum, a global first.
- Advocating with government, private sector and communities for permaculture-based change
Permatil would like to build more awareness of their work in the region, to help and inspire other groups to see the benefits of, and get involved in permaculture, through school gardens, water conservation, tree planting and youth ‘in action’ projects and start collaborating with similar organisations on future projects.
